I’LL BE BACK SOON… 💥 NURSE ANGELICA BROPHY’S FINAL CRYPTIC TEXT NOW HAUNTS HER LOVED ONES AS FRIEND REVEALS CHILLING CLUE FOUND IN HER CAR
A DEVASTATED nurse has told The U.S. Sun about the cryptic final text she received from a missing mom before her mysterious disappearance sparked a desperate search for answers.
Ashley Seitz, 38, has worked with Angelica Brophy for the last three years and formed a strong bond with the 44-year-old and her fellow emergency room nurses.
Ashley Seitz (in the middle) spoke to The U.S. Sun about her friend’s plightCredit: The TacoBellas
The pair enjoyed line dancing and spending time with each other away from the Kaiser San Marcos hospital in San Marcos, California.
But upon hearing Brophy was missing, Seitz has been unable to come to terms with her friend’s increasingly perilous situation.
More than a week after Brophy vanished on July 6, family, friends and coworkers gathered Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil as search efforts continue across Palomar Mountain State Park.
Brophy was last seen leaving Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Valley Center at about 3:40pm, according to investigators.
Authorities say records show she purchased a parking pass at Palomar Mountain State Park about 4:20pm.
She never returned home and failed to report for her scheduled night shift.
Her husband Brent reported her missing later that evening after unsuccessfully trying to contact her.
Three days later, Brophy’s gray Hyundai Kona was found abandoned in a parking lot at Palomar Mountain State Park.
That sparked a large-scale search involving sheriff’s deputies, California State Parks, search-and-rescue teams, K-9 units, drones, helicopters and hundreds of volunteers.
Seitz, who lovingly refers to the close group of friends which Brophy is part of as the TacoBellas – “our guilty pleasure on the night shift” – recalls the heartbreaking last time she heard from her friend.
“Our group of five is extremely close,” Seitz told The U.S Sun. “We all met when we opened the hospital together.
“We were all night-shift nurses. Sometimes it was chaotic, but often there’d be a lull. We became very close and talked about deeper things.
“Her last message in our group chat was thanking us for being such great friends. But that’s something we did all the time.
“I have four children, so sometimes I’d message the group saying, ‘I had a terrible mom day. Thanks for being there.’ Or after a hard shift I’d say, ‘Thanks for listening. I love you all.’
“We were always expressing appreciation for one another, so it wasn’t unusual. We said those kinds of things all the time. Looking back now, though, it almost feels cryptic. At the time it wasn’t, but it does now.”
Cops have said they have been unable to locate Brophy’s cellphone and believe it was either turned off or had a dead battery and was left in the car.
While Seitz understands why she left her wallet behind, leaving her phone is harder to understand and signaled a red flag.
“I think it’s odd,” she continued. “Leaving the wallet isn’t that strange, but leaving her phone? She’s smart.
“If she was going hiking, she’d normally have some kind of safety net. Then again, maybe she’d had a bad day and wanted to clear her head — just leave everything behind and go for a walk.
“She’s very capable. It’s not like she’s a little old lady. She’d run marathons.”
Seitz says alarm bells rang when Brophy failed to arrive for work.
“The day she went missing, I was at work. When she didn’t show up, I started calling her, then found out her husband was looking for her. That’s how everything got started. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
Angelica Brophy’s car was found near a hiking trail with her phone and wallet still insideCredit: FOX 5/KUSI
Angelica Brophy is a beloved night nurse at a California hospitalCredit: Facebook
Brophy’s family have been organizing search parties as the mystery over her disappearance continuesCredit: Facebook/Rafael Fabregas
Angelica’s friend has no idea why her phone was left in the carCredit: The TacoBellas
Online sleuths have begun to question why her husband hasn’t been talking to the media, raising suspicions in some quarters about him.
Seitz is quick to set the record straight.
“It really hurts that people keep suspecting him,” she countered. “I understand he has to be cleared, and he understands that too. He doesn’t really have a social media presence. He’s focused on the kids, while a large group of us has taken on dealing with the media.
“He’s absent from the media because he’s grieving and looking after his children — not because he doesn’t care.”
Seitz described Brophy as an experienced hiker but said her disappearance does not fit her usual routine.
The unanswered questions have left friends considering every possibility.
“It just doesn’t make sense to me,” Seitz said on why Brophy was hiking solo.
“Also the time she went. I feel like there’s no concrete information leading us firmly down any path, which is why this has been so challenging. Obviously, we’re searching the mountain because that’s where her car was found, but we haven’t had any hits from the search dogs.
“We’ve had helicopters, drones, foot patrols—trained and volunteer searchers.
“That’s why we’re still searching there, in case she’s there. But we’re also pleading for anyone with information to come forward because did someone take her?
“Did she run away? Did she hurt herself? Did she get lost hiking?
“On Monday, when she went missing, all of those possibilities would have seemed insane.
“But the longer I’ve thought about it, you start looking at every interaction through a different lens. You can’t say any of those things couldn’t have happened.”
On Wednesday evening, those closest to Brophy gathered with candles outside the hospital where she has worked since 2023, hoping to keep attention focused on the increasingly desperate search.
Brophy’s family attended the vigil but declined to speak publicly.
One of her brothers, however, was keen to stress to The U.S. Sun that initial reports of her failing to pick up her daughter from camp were misguided.
Martin Fabregas confirmed his sister had arranged for someone to pick up one of her two children.
Oceanside Police Chief Taurino Valdovinos, meanwhile, said the case remains an active missing-person investigation, despite there currently being no evidence of foul play.
Divers searched a pond at Palomar Mountain State Park earlier this week but found no sign of Brophy.
Authorities say they will continue working with California State Parks, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team and Brophy’s family as the search enters its second week.
Seitz revealed there has been some “frustration” with an “interagency nightmare.”
Although Brophy is from Oceanside, her car was found on state park land, meaning the San Diego Sheriff’s office is handling the search and rescue mission.
“You don’t know who you’re supposed to be talking to or who handles what,” she admitted.
“None of us has ever been through anything like this. It’s not like the movies, where the whole world stops to focus on one case. That’s not reality.”
Brophy’s family has organized a series of volunteer search parties in hopes of bringing her home.
“It’s been difficult adjusting to realistic expectations and accepting that I won’t know everything happening behind the scenes,” Seitz concluded.
“I just keep hoping there’s a lot more going on than I’m aware of because sometimes it feels like nobody’s doing anything, even though I know that’s not true.
“We just want our friend to come home.”
